He and his wife Sophie, 60, have 22-year-old twins, Zoe and Louisa.

Favourite destination: Gulf of Thailand

Why: With beautiful expanses of calm water, picture-perfect islands and some impeccable marinas, the cruising grounds there are fantastic and it is one of my favourite destinations to sail to.

Once you reach land, Thai hospitality, delicious food and luxurious hotels make for a perfect stopover. You can’t beat that.

Favourite hotels

Soneva Kiri (www.soneva.com/soneva-kiri) on the island of Koh Kood is a magical place. I like to think Koh Kood is Thailand as it was several decades ago: untamed jungle, pristine beaches and fishermen going about their business.

With room rates starting from US$1,570 (S$2,260) a night, the hotel boasts 24 of some of the largest resort villas and private residences I’ve seen and guests are provided with an electric buggy as well as a private butler.

But what makes Soneva Kiri stand out is the experience it offers. Its “Cinema Paradiso” is an open-air, jungle-enshrouded auditorium perched over a lagoon. Guests can watch classic films every night and order cocktails and small bites.

Guests can also enjoy the view of the night sky from the hotel’s observatory and learn about the constellations and planets from the hotel’s visiting astronomers.

Another favourite is Samujana Villas (www.samujana.com) on Koh Samui. Ranging from three to eight bedrooms and starting from US$920 a night, each villa is set into the hillside and incorporates rock outcrops and indigenous trees into its contemporary design.

Samujana offers activities and tours such as visits to the local rum distillery. There is also an in-house health expert, Amrita, who offers luxury wellness services in the comfort and privacy of your villa.

Favourite eateries

You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone with a bad word to say about chef Francois Porte’s Chez Francois (33/2 Moo1 Fisherman’s Village, Bophut, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand; tel:+66-9-6071-1800; http://www.facebook.com/chezporte) on Koh Samui.

The menu changes daily, depending on what he finds at the market.I have had some delicious meals there – from lobster cannelloni to coq au vin with garlic puree. A meal there costs about 2,500 baht (S$100) a person.

I also love visiting the Thepprasit Night Market (www.pattayaconcierge.com/specified-place/thepprasit-night-market/201100000003/shopping) in Pattaya for the chargrilled squid and sticky mango rice.

And I have never come across anything quite like the unique Treepod Dining (www.soneva.com/soneva- kiri/treepod-dining) experience at Soneva Kiri. Seated in a bamboo dining pod, guests are hoisted into the treetops of the rainforest. Your personal waiter delivers food and drinks via a zipline and there are stunning views of the beach.

Favourite dive sites

Just over an hour by speedboat north from Koh Samui, Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, is a haven for scuba divers.

A short ride north-east of Koh Pha Ngan leads to the magnificent Sail Rock, a large boulder-like pinnacle that rises 15m from the sea. This is one of the most impressive dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand, with giant groupers, large shoals of bat fish and barracuda. We were once lucky enough to dive there with whale sharks.

Inside the pinnacle is the famous Chimney, a vertical shaft where divers can enter at 18m deep and swim up to its 10m or 5m exits and see small cleaner shrimp and Japanese blue striped pipefish.

Off the main dive area is a site called The Secret Pinnacle. Along with the striking corals, there is a chance to see a massive shoal of bigeye trevally circling around 12m above the pinnacle. It is possible to enter and get encompassed by the shoal, an experience the likes of those seen on National Geographic.

Favourite fishing spots

The Gulf of Thailand is teeming with tropical marine game fish of all sizes and varieties. Just off the shores of Koh Samet – about 220km south-east of Bangkok and off the coast of Rayong province – is a brilliant fishing spot. You can come across trevally, barracuda, grouper, garfish, rockcod, parrotfish, coral trout, dorado, emperor, shark, stingray, kingfish, triple tail, pompano, snapper and seaperch.

Events to bookmark

The Koh Samui Triathlon and Top of the Gulf Regatta are both in April.

The triathlon starts on Nathon Beach with a 4km swim, followed by 120km of cycling and a 30km run. The regatta (www.topofthegulfregatta.com) in Pattaya is a fun event where boating enthusiasts can see a range of offshore yachts race alongside dinghies and beach cats, catamaran sailboats.

Minister Htay Aung noted that while preservation should be stepped up, the city’s tourism should be further promoted. Hotels should imiprove their services.

The minister said there were good prospects for tourism to develop. He welcomed foreign travellers who had arrived to take a study trip to Myaing Township to develop rural tourism there.

The name of this region may not be very well-known to many travellers who have often heard of more famous and touristic mountainous regions like Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai), Sa Pa (Lao Cai) or Dong Van (Ha Giang). But if you really want to explore the real life of ethnic people while contemplating beautiful and grandiose natural landscapes, Tram Tau may be your new ideal destination.

It may be better for you to discover this region now before many tourists arrive and cause it to change.

Ethnic celebration

This region is located in the northeast region of Vietnam, next to Mu Cang Chai District. People here, being comprised of Mong, Thai, Khmu, Tay, Muong ethnic groups, only live on plantations of maize and rice, as well as raise cows.

During my first day in this region, I had the opportunity to discover the local market in Tram Tau town. I was welcomed by gentle local women sellers who said hello to me with big innocent smiles.

Here, they sell diverse products laid out on a piece of plastic sheet: eggs, chicken, bamboo shoots, ginger, fresh cabbage, and forest banana flowers.

Many women, in colourful dress, carry on their back the vegetables they grow in their gardens and then sell to customers.

In this market, many kinds of brocade and colourful dresses were sold.

Different to many other regions, sellers here do not bargain. They do not easily change the prices of their products.

However, they are very easy-going people. Many asked me where I am from and they were happy to be in photos. It’s different from Sa Pa, where some hawkers ask you to pay them to allow you to take a picture of them.

Besides local specialities, you can also easily find in this town Ha Noi beer, different kinds of fruit juices, modern clothes and mobile phones.

The second day, when walking in the remote Hat Luu commune of the district, I met by chance a Thai ethnic family. After a brief conversation, they invited me to enter in their house which is a wooden house on stilts.

Luckily for me, I arrived on the day the Thai people celebrate Independence Day (September 2).

For a long time, this day has become an important festive day of the Thai in this region, the second most important festive day, after Lunar New Year.

They clean the house, decorate the ancestors’ altar, and in particular, they prepare a hearty meal as an offering on the altar, and after, the family members will enjoy the meal. On this day, they only eat meat (chicken, duck, pork) but not vegetables.

I was luckily invited to enjoy this big meal with them. It was a happy experience for me!

Celebration of this day is the way Thai people teach their children to remember the important dates of the country, and to be grateful to those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence.

On the third day, I continued my excursions in some other remote communes of the district. I was impressed to witness the local people’s peaceful life despite hardships.

I came across an old woman carrying heavy firewood on her back. Wiping the sweat on her face, she smiled to me and nicely showed me the way when I got lost.

After some minutes walking, I met a mother sitting in a chair in front of her house. She was embroidering, with her little girl sitting behind. They waved to me and smiled to me to say hello.

Another mother combs her hair in front of the door of the house, next to a young man sitting in a chair outside the house to get some fresh air.

Not far from them, a group of children in go home from school, holding colourful umbrellas in their hands as it rains.

They also take in their hands a lunch box as they often bring lunch from home to school. Their meals are very simple, only with some pieces of pickled bamboo shoots and chilli.

Besides these interesting lifestyles for you to discover, this land has a lot more to offer.

This region is ideal for ecological tourism. Tourists can get fresh air in summer while going to streams and to the pine hills. They can bathe with hot mineral water in winter. They can admire immense terraced fields. Moreover, they can also discover the interesting cultural life of ethnic groups including the dancing to the flute of Mong men, leaf pan-pipe of Mong girls, dancing on the stream of Thai girls and dancing with the gong sounds of Kho Mu people.

Adventures await

Tram Tau is also ideal for adventurous tourism.

Hang Te Cho waterfall in the district draws people who love the wild beauty of land untouched by human hands.

The waterfall is considered by some the most spectacular waterfall in this region of Vietnam, and looks like a tiny thread against the hills in the distance.

The road to Hang Te Cho is a dirt path, often muddy, which skirts along the edge of cliffs. The challenging route, in places barely wide enough for a motorcycle to pass, is one reason why this waterfall is still pristine and not widely known among casual travellers.

You can also discover Ta Chi Nhu peak which is the dream mountain shared by many who love climbing and “cloud hunting”.

Being the sixth-highest peak in Vietnam, with its 2,979m altitude, this peak will give you an unforgettable experience, with a view from the summit that’s awesome and ravishing.

If you want to go to this district, it may be better not to come in the rainy season (from May to September), the muddy roads of the remote communes will become hard to pass. Local people cannot ride a motorbike on these roads during rainy days. They have to walk.

Even a few months since my trip to this region, I keep missing the many faces of local people, as well as their looks, their life and in particular, their radiant smiles.

The distinctive journey spa programme pays tribute to rice which has an important mythical role in the Kadazandusun culture.

Every year, during the Tadau Kaamatan or Harvest festival, the indigenous people of Sabah offer thanksgiving to the revered rice spirit Bambaazon for a bountiful harvest.

For those who love to shop, international and local brand outlets such as Levi’s, Sacoor Brothers, Esprit, G2000, Forever 21, Melinda Looi, Vero Moda, Only, Puma, Nike, Li-Ning and Sketchers offer quality products at affordable prices, some even at a 60% to 80% discount.

If you get hungry, there are classy cafes like West 57th by Zang Toi, fast-food outlets like Pappa Rich and Marrybrown, health food oulets like TCBY Yoghurt, and a food court.

Wiry and fit with flowing white hair, village head Jero Kubayan Mucuk tells the tale of the old ones who came searching through Bali’s wild jungles and discovered this fertile tract of land — the ideal place for a village.

“The founder was Ida Dukuh Lingsir who came with 11 followers. They were all strong, hence the name Bayung Gede, which means great strength. We don’t know where the 11 came from, but we know Ida Dukuh Lingsir achieved moksa; there was no body when he died, he was just gone,” says Jero, whose family has lived in the village for many centuries. Moksa is the release of a soul from the cycle of rebirth under Hindu beliefs.

Protected by a “living fence” of bamboo, the people of Bayung Gede remained for a thousand years undisturbed, their rituals unchanged.

“There in the past we were surrounded by a dense bamboo living fence. Others could not enter the village so we remained true to our rites,” says Jero.

Among those rites is the ari-ari ritual for the placenta of newborn babies. At the southernmost point of the village a great garden of bukak trees is the placenta burial site. Washed in perfumed waters and flowers, placentas are placed in coconut shells and hung from the bukak tree.

“Many people come here to see the ari-ari that are unique to Bayung Gede. In Trunyan [village] bodies of the dead are laid on the ground unburied, here it is the placenta that is unburied. This is the only village in Indonesia that does this,” says Jero.

Taking the placenta away, rather than burying it in home gardens, means every home in Bayung Gede remains holy.

“Because we do this, the holy men of the village can enter any home without needing cleansing ceremonies. Placentas are unclean because they are mixed with blood,” says Jero, adding when placentas are hung in the bukak tree, the bough is cut to release the tree’s viscous sap that is believed to absorb the smell of putrefaction.

The funeral rituals of Bayung Gede are also unique to the mountainside village among Balinese customs.

“We do not dig up the bodies of our dead for cremation. That is done in the south by Balinese who were influenced by the Majapahit in ancient times. Here the souls of our dead are sent to the heavens on the smoke of burning cattle,” says Jero explaining that a cow is symbolically burnt when females die and bulls are burnt for males. The cooked meat is then shared among family and friends after the ceremony.

Jero points out that the Bali Aga, another ancient Balinese society, follows the Majapahit funeral rituals of sarcophagi cremations more closely.

“The Bali Aga are different to the Bali Mula. The Bali Aga are more modern, more influenced by the Majapahit. The Bali Mula are almost uninfluenced by that,” says Jero looking out at the jungles that surround his village.

These jungles are the holy places of Bayung Gede’s inhabitants. “In Bayung Gede we have many temples called Pura Mertiwi. These are sacred places in our jungles. Pura dalam down south are great buildings and temples but here the temple is our jungle, which we see as holy. This is the original temple,” says Jero pointing out this adheres closely to the Balinese Hindu philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, people’s relationship to the Earth, mankind and the gods.

“We pray to the great ancient trees. To us these are the temples of Pura Mertiwi,” says Jero.

Strolling the north-south running streets of Bayung Gede, home to more than 2,000 people, visitors notice the sense of calm and quiet that pervades. Homes are closed off from the street by mud brick fences that have lasted for longer than anyone can remember, the streets are clean swept and dogs are noticeably absent.

Like later Bali Mula villages such as Penglipuran, the roofs of homes in Bayung Gede are made of interwoven bamboo tiles and it is perhaps this symbol that best sums up the village. When new roofs are needed families and friends come together in gotong royong, or shared work, to raise a new roof.

“Gotong royong is still strong. If we need to build everyone comes together. We serve a special dish of jajan lukas, made from sticky black rice. This symbolizes that the roof will be strong and stick long to the house,” says Jero, head of the peaceful village that itself has stuck well to its traditions.